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Civilian Absentee Ballot Request

A qualified voter or the voter’s near relative (spouse, brother, sister, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, mother-in-law, father-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, stepparent, or stepchild) or verifiable legal guardian shall request in writing an application for absentee ballots, so that the county board of elections receives the request not later than 5:00 PM on the Tuesday before the election (NCGS § 163-230.1). No one with Power of Attorney is allowed to sign the request unless they are the voter’s near relative or the voter’s verifiable legal guardian.

A written request is valid only if it is written entirely by the requester personally, or is on a form generated by the county board of elections and signed by the requester (NCGS § 163-230.2). If a requester, due to disability or illiteracy, is unable to complete a written request, the requester may receive assistance in writing the request from an individual of the requester’s choice.

To complete an absentee ballot request, the voter, near relative or verifiable legal guardian should include the following details:

Statement requesting absentee ballots. Identify the specific election.
Voter’s name
Voter’s Forsyth County residence address and address where ballot is to be mailed
If a Primary election and voter is Unaffiliated, designate the party preference
Voter’s date of birth
Daytime telephone number
Voter’s signature if ballot is requested by voter
The near relative or verifiable legal guardian must also provide their name, residence address, relationship and signature if the absentee ballot is requested by them.

If a voter has an illness or physical disability that is expected to last the remainder of the calendar year, ballots may be requested for each election of that calendar year. The request must contain a statement about the voter’s illness or disability.

A voter with an illness or physical disability or their near relative or verifiable legal guardian may request after 5:00 PM on the Tuesday prior to the election, but not later than 5:00 PM on the day before the election.

Send requests to:
Forsyth County Board of Elections
Forsyth County Government Center
201 N. Chestnut Street
Winston-Salem, NC 27101-4120

Fax requests to: 336-727-2893

Please call 336-703-2800 if there are questions about the absentee request process.